Umbrella



i Z'Sheets-Sheet 1. G. A. LINKE.

UMBRBLLA.

Patented Feb. 4,1890.

(No Model.)

l' (No Model.) 2 vSmets-smeet 2.

G. A. LINKE.

UMBRBLLA.

No.. 420.690. Patented Feb. 4, 1890.7-

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.4 TTUHNEYS. l

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ATENT OFFICE,

GUSTAV A. LINKE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

UVIBRELLA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 420,690, dated February 4, 1890. Application led May 23, 1889. Serial No. 3111846 (N0 mOdeL) .To @ZZ whom; it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUsrAv A. LINKE, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Umbrellas, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

leased or started for lowering the umbrella said stretchers, by their spring construction, operate to close the umbrella and to keep it closed without the aid of other or special devices for the purpose; but these stretchers as heretofore applied in an umbrella-frame eX- erted no tendency to hold the umbrella open, but invariably have had the contrary effect, so that a special spring or other fastening was necessary to hold the runner when raised to keep the umbrella distended, which fastening had to be released before the spring-stretchers were free to close the umbrella. With a different kind of stretcher umbrellas have been made which would automaticallyT hold themselves open; butv these stretchers have had no tendency toclose the umbrella or to hold Vit closed.

My invention has for its object the production of an umbrella which, by the aid of the spring-stretchers I have described, shall not only be self-closin g and hold itself closed, but which shall automatically hold itself open when distended without the aid of any special fastening requiring to be released when it is desired to lower the umbrella.

To this end the invention consists in a special combination and arrangement of the French spring-stretchers with the ribs of an umbrella-frame and with a stop applied to or controlling the upward movement of the runner, whereby when the runner is fully raised the points of connection of the stretchers with the lower notch or runner will be above the points of connection of said stretchers with the ribs, thereby carrying the stretchers be* yond their culminating plane and so automatically holding the umbrella distended, and so that upon only starting the runner down to bring the stretchers below their culminating plane-that is, their points of attachment yto the ribs above their points of attachment to the runner-said stretchers will close the umbrella and hold it closed; and the invention comprises, in connection with this combination, a hollow stick or staif for the umbrella, with a rod running up through it constructed to form a starting pull-down for the runner capable of operation from the handle of the umbrella, and which may also form a stop to the runner when raised, substantially as hereinafter shown and described.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures. Figure l represents by full lines a partiallysectional elevation of the frame and main portions of an umbrella with my invention in one of its forms applied and showing the frame as distended, but as without its cover, said view also showing by dot-ted lines the position of the parts when the frame is closed. Fig. 2 is an inverted horizontal section or plan view upon the line o: in Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and et are partially-sectional elevations of the upper portions of the umbrella in part in illustration of certain modifications of the stop whichcoritrols the stretchers in their distended condition to automatically hold the umbrella open; and Fig. 5 is a vlongitudinal view of two of the stretcherswhen closed.

Referring, in the iirst instance, to Figs. l, 2, and 5 of the drawings, A indicates the umbrella-stick,whichmay be made hollow, for a purpose that will be hereinafter described; B, the handle in part; C, the runner, and D the top notch. 'l E are the ribs, attached, as usual, as by pivots b, to the top notch D, and G are the French stretchers, each of which is composed of independent springs c c, in pairs attached at their inner ends, as by pivots d, to the'notoh of the runner C and tied together for a certain portion of their length, as byclips e, but connected at their outer or opposite ends, as

by pivots f, with the next adjacent rib E- that is, the one spring of each pair with one rib and the other spring of the same pair with the next rib, subject to an open clip-connection g of the two springs near their pivots f. This is a well-known form of spring-stretcher, which has before been used to close the um brella on releasing the runner when raised from its spring-catch and to hold the nmbrella closed; but said stretchers have heretofore been attached higher up the ribs, and the stop controlling the upward movement of the runner has always been disposed so that the pivoted connection of the stretchers to the runner has been below their pivoted connection with the ribs when the umbrella is fully open; hence the necessity of a spring-catch to hold the runner raised, and which on being released causes the spring-stretchers to automatically close the umbrella.

I dispense with a springcatch or any other special fastening for holding the runner up when fully raised and make the springstretcher frame or stretchers G to hold the runner up when fully raised, as well as to perform their customary function of closing the umbrella and holding it closed. This I do by a special arrangement relatively to each other of the spring-stretchers, the ribs of the frame, and the stop which limits the upward movement of the runner. Thus I connect the stretchers G by their pivots f at a point -lower than usual to the ribs E, and so arrange the stop which limits the upward movement of the runner C that when said runner is fully raised the pivots d, connecting the inner ends of the stretchers with the notch of the runner, will be carried above the level of the pivots f, which connect the outer ends of the stretchers with the ribs, as shown by full lines in Fig, l. This will cause the spring-stretchers Gr to pass their culminating plane, and thus automatically hold the runner up and the umbrella open or expanded, the cover of the umbrella aiding, as usual, to hold the ribs in place, and when it is necessary to automatically close the umbrella and to hold it closed all that is necessary is to start the runner slightly down, so that the spring-stretchers will pass a little below or to the reverse side of their culminating plane,

t when said spring-stretchers will immediately act to close the umbrella-frame. In this way or by these means all independent spring catches or fastenings, both for holding the umbrella open and closed, may be dispensed with and the spring-stretchers themselves be made to perform both duties. To attain this double result for the spring-stretchers G- that is, of both holding and closing the umbrella closed and of holding the umbrella open-it is necessary to attach said stretchers farther down the ribs and to make them longer than when a similar type of springstretchers is simply used to close the umbrella and to hold it closed, and also necessary, as hereinafter described, to arrange the stop controlling the upward movement of the runner, so that the pivoted connection of the stretcher with the runner will be free to come 7o above their pivoted connection with the ribs when the umbrella is open. When, as in other arrangements, rigid instead of spring stretchers are used and the runner is made capable of thus carrying the pivoted connec- 75 tion of the stretchers above their pivoted con- C:

nection with the ribs, for the single purposql of holding the umbrella open, then the elas., tic pressure of the umbrella-cover is depended upon to allow of the runner being pushed up 8o or down past the plane of the connection of A m,

the stretchers with the ribs. This throws ur, due and injurious strain upon the umbrella cover, which my invention relieves by the..

elasticity of the springstretchers, that operate not only to close and hold the umbrella closed, but also, like the rigid stretchers, to hold it open. y l f, The stop for limiting the upward movf ment of the runner D, so that the pivots will be above the level of the pivots f wht` the umbrella is fully open, may be variously constructed. A convenient means for the purpose, and also for starting the runner down when the spring-stretchers are required to close the umbrella, is shown in Fig. 1. Thus the hollow stick A is fitted with a rod. .I, that at its upper end is crooked, or has projection h, that passes out through a longD tudinal slot s in the side of the stick, and ifm further crooked at its lower end to pass through a longitudinal slot la in the side c, the handle B, and is provided with an exte rior button or thumb-piece Z. Vhen in the act of opening the umbrella, the runner 'l pushes the rod J by its projection h up its extreme limit. Said rod .I by its top cn.

h forms a stop to the upward movement of the runner, when the pivots d are raised above the level of the pivots f, and holds the umbrella openautomatically by the sp1-if stretchers G, and by afterward moving me rod .I downward by its thumb-piece l from the handle end of the umbrella the crook 7L will start the runner downto provide for the springstretchers automatically closing the umbrella, as hereinbefore described.

While the above, however, constitutes avery convenient stop arrangement and a useful means for closing the umbrella, it will be vevident that the stop limiting the upward movement of the runner C, instead of being made a movable one, might be a iixture on the stick that might then be made solid, and the runner might be started down by direct application of the fingers toit. Thus the top notch D might be elongated downward to form the stop to the upward movement of the runner in relation to the pivots d and f, as hereinbefore described, and as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, or the runner C might be elongated upward to bear at its upper end against the fixed top notch D when said runner is fully raisedas shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to sec-ure by Letters Patent, is-

l. As a new article of manufacture, anumbrella provided with elongated spring-stretchers G, constructed substantially as described, a stick or stall", a top notch D, ribs E, pivoted at their inner ends vto said top notch, a runner C, having the inner ends of said springs pivoted toi them, as at d, while their outer ends are pivoted, as at f, to the ribs, and a stop-` applied to arrest the upward motion of the runner on the stick when the inner pivots CZ of` the stretchers pass above the plane or level of their outer pivots f, whereby said spring-stretchers are made tor not only close the umbrella and to hold it closed, but also to automatically hold it open, as set forth.

2. In self-closing umbrellas, the combination, with the hollow stick A and its handle vided with an upper lateral projection or runner-stop operating to permit of the pivots d passing` above the level of the pivots f, and as a pull-down for starting the runner to bring the pivots cl below the pivots f, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

GUSTAV A. LINKE. Witnesses:

CHARLES E. BoNNELL, ARTHUR P. JEANNERETT. 

